Linda Kirk (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

That is true. Senator Carr indicates that it is because the British have been returned to their own country. Our government has not been prepared to insist that our citizen David Hicks be returned, yet the UK members of parliament visited the facility, got a briefing about it and had a good chance to look around. We also would like to be able to do this, especially as we still have one of our own citizens in Guantanamo Bay.

Anyway, as Senator Stott Despoja’s motion alludes to, there are really two issues that are particularly pertinent at the moment, and I will deal with the second of them first. Senator Stott Despoja says in her motion that Mr Hicks’s mental and physical health has deteriorated in recent months, particularly after 11 months in solitary confinement, and he should be repatriated immediately for trial in Australia. I want to deal with the second aspect of Senator Stott Despoja’s motion—that is, the mental health of David Hicks. Many South Australians are very concerned about the mental health of Mr Hicks. Of course, most concerned would be Terry Hicks, with whom we are all familiar, and the other members of his family. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Downer, recently conceded that his recent statement that David was ‘fit and well’ was made on a five-minute assessment of David that was made by a US embassy staff member without any medical training.